National News

Report: Just One Lifeboat Deployed as Ferry Sank

(NEWSER) – The doomed South Korean ferry had 46 lifeboats, but according to a report from CNN's South Korean affiliate YTN, just one was deployed as the ferry sank yesterday. CNN has not independently confirmed the report, though video from another network shows at least 12 survival capsules, which house the lifeboats, remained attached to the ferry. Who did apparently make it off the ship in a lifeboat? The captain, who coast guard officials say boarded one just 32 minutes after the accident was reported, according to ABC News. The latest developments:

Another big problem: The initial orders issued over the PA system were for passengers to don a life jacket but remain in place rather than try to escape, which may have been a fatal mistake. A crew member explains to the AP that no immediate evacuation order was issued because officers were attempting to stabilize the vessel after it started to tilt. He says an evacuation order was given by the captain 30 minutes later, but he wasn't sure if it went out over the PA; some survivors say they never heard it. The delayed evacuation order also likely kept lifeboats from being deployed, the AP notes.